Haunted Jersey Shore: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Garden State Coast

Stackpole Haunted Series

by Charles A. Stansfield Jr., Heather Adel (Illustrator)

Featuring: * The Jersey Devil * Pirate Ghosts at Cape May Point * Jimmy Hoffa's Ghost * Ghost Towns of the Pinelands * Ghost Beacons of the Tuckerton Tower * The Phantom Lifeguard An entertaining look into the haunted history of the New Jersey coastline, with tales of pirates and treasure, loves lost at sea, Civil War ghosts, and monsters and other strange beings that lurk in the countryside.

Genres: Ghosts, Nonfiction, Supernatural

126 pages, Paperback

First published March 10, 2006

Reviews

[Theresahpir · Rating 4 out of 5]

My boyfriend was born in Red Bank, New Jersey, so we were both delighted--and rather surprised--to find a copy of this book at our local (West Virginia) Goodwill store. I have to say, it was the best 50 cents I have spent in a long time!

At 114 pages, this book is short, but that makes it a perfect, quick read for October! I had my reservations at first, because I had previously read other books by different authors in this publisher's same series. While still pretty good, these books tended to be a little sparse when it came to the actual number of stories covered. This book was the complete opposite! Divided by geographical area, there are several dozen stories packed between its covers.

Most of the tales are only about half a page in length, and therefore, there's not a lot of history or extraneous information detracting from the meat of the story. As a historian for my paranormal investigation group, I really value and appreciate a thorough historical profile for my research, but sometimes I just want to read the good parts and enjoy a good scare! Again, that makes this the perfect little book to read during the Halloween season as it focuses on the spooky part, and doesn't worry about proving or disproving the tales. Of course, enough details are given so that anyone interested in learning more can do their own research with or without the aide of the bibliography. Also included in the text are links to different area paranormal groups and websites, and information about how to find companies that conduct ghost tours in the area.

If you have any ties to the Jersey Coast, definitely pick this one up for some spooky reading! But, if you're NOT familiar with the area, don't be intimidated; its still a very enjoyable read that doesn't rely on a previous understanding of the history or geography of the area. And seriously...how could you not love the cover illustration of the Jersey Devil?

[C. J. Scurria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haunted Jersey Shore is a book that tells you not only about the geography and history within the Garden State's many shores but also the many tales of "sightings" and scary things that have happened long ago. One would if they read this would probably go on a quest to see if they could find the active "hauntings" or strange monsters that still supposedly abound in these unusual lands.

Sorry but I could not take this book too seriously. I liked parts that told interesting stories of people in the lands and what happened when they actually existed but reading of the ghosts and things like the Jersey Devil I figure they only exist because of tourism or other things I don't want to speak of here.

I did get inspired to write a huge story though so there's that. Plus try to look at a few pictures of this and not find some of the content within unintentionally hilarious. Ribbing aside this was okay (I guess I was trying to find something to entertain myself during the month of October last year and it somewhat did its job at that).

It's an okay book but if you want to go on an exploring supernatural-spotting tour this guide is good to go for you!

[Kurt Weber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some stories contain wild inaccuracies, particularly the story of the Blue Comet wreck at Chatsworth.

[R.J.]

Fun summer read!

[Randy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice collection of ghost stories to bring on your next trip Down The Shore, or to read on the plane if you're visiting from far away

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little book. Ghost stories are grouped into 6 sections, North Shore, Central Shore, South Shore, The Pinelands Northern Tidewater and Delaware Bay and River.

I was surprised to learn of a few celebrity ghosts haunting the shore. Captain Kidd, Diamond Jim Brady, Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor. As for the Jersey Devil…figures I’m living where he originated…I had the heebie jeebies one day while driving a super deserted road thru the Pines!!

I wish there were to the stories!!

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty campy, but well-written and lots of fun. The photo illustrations were so bad they actually crossed over into "awesome" territory.

God, I am embarrassingly obsessed with New Jersey. So much history, and so many great stories.

P.S. The Jersey Devil is the coolest monster EVER!!!